Fifth Element ensured that I will never stop pining for sci-fi games that let me fly between skyscrapers and dodge traffic in my futuristic car, and it looks like Cloudpunk (opens in new tab) is primed to scratch that itch. It's a story-driven cyberpunk exploration game that puts you behind the wheel of a flying delivery van, and it's coming to Steam (opens in new tab) on April 23.
As a courier, you'll take jobs from cyberpunks, androids and anyone else who can pay for a speedy delivery. You can get out of the car, too, and explore the city on foot, meeting new people, looking around for hidden areas and spending your hard-earned dosh on upgrades.
I'd absolutely be perfectly happy driving around and making deliveries, but Cloudpunk's not a futuristic Truck Simulator—it's got a story to tell, and the decisions you make will apparently have a lasting impact on the city. That's a lot of pressure to put on a delivery driver.
Developer Ion Lands isn't giving too much away, but expect corporate conspiracies, hackers and rogue AI to interfere with your job.
"At its core, Cloudpunk is about what it takes to make it in a city," says studio head Marko Dieckmann. "Whether that city is New York in the '80s, San Francisco today, or some futuristic city a thousand years from now. The richness and character and struggles are familiar to everyone everywhere."
Hopefully there will still be plenty of time to just drive through the city and soak in the sights during all that corporate intrigue.
